20 Rare Photos of Life Inside a Civil War Camp

While most of us are familiar with the famous photos of Lincoln and various Generals visiting Civil War camps, we wanted to take a look at what day-to-day life was actually like in the camps. Given that most of the time soldiers were either preparing for battle or waiting their next orders, significant time was spent in camp. These photos give a rare glimpse in to what it was like.

Here we see officers of the 17th New York Battery stationed outside of Washington, D.C. in 1862.

One of the biggest problems regiments encountered during the war was simply staying fed and healthy. The Quartermasters had to build their own kitchens and serving areas. Here we see an example of a log cabin kitchen that was built from timber surrounding the camp.